LA Multi-academy trusts: Government Response

The education select committee called on the Department for Education (DfE) to end the ban on local authorities creating multi-academy trusts by allowing councils with a strong track record in education to establish academies. But the Department for Education has rejected these calls to allow local authorities to be given the freedom to set up academy school groups stating that"It is important to maintain the independence of academies, for example in setting the curriculum, pay or school hours’. And that "This is a crucial part of encouraging the innovation that has driven up standards in so many schools. This is why we do not allow academy trusts to become subject to the influence of a local authority."

Regarding the inspections and the question about accountability the DfE state that:

"The department does not accept that there is a gap in assessing the quality of MATs' education provision," said the DfE.

"It is right that Ofsted's starting point in their work with MATs continues to be the inspection of individual academies."